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Tennessee's booming rail industry is faced with a bill that could impede on their success and the economy.

Story Highlights

Beverly Robertson is president and CEO of the Greater Memphis Chamber.

Tennessee is one of the nation’s most vital freight rail hubs, with a geographical uniqueness of being home to both eastern and western railroads. This has made freight rail an indispensable part of our state’s economy.

However, some lawmakers in D.C. are threatening to stall this progress by proposing rules that could restrict the freight rail industry’s ability to innovate for the future.

Tennesseans might not fully grasp the benefits freight rail has on our economy, particularly for the automotive industry.

Our state moves more than 200 million tons of freight by rail, which is critical for the nearly 1,000 auto suppliers based here. In fact, transportation equipment, accounting for nearly 22% of Tennessee total exports, is our top export, positioning our state as the primary driver of the Southeast’s fast-growing automotive industry.

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Freight rail industry on the rise

A freight rail industry that is thriving thanks to innovation and modernization is helping the state move goods at a safe, effective and reliable pace to grow our success throughout the 21st century.

These gains would be threatened if Washington starts dictating unnecessary new rules and regulations that prevent railroads from realizing the long-term benefits of innovation.

One such bill in Congress would mandate railroads have at least two crew members in the locomotive cab of every freight train. While this legislation is dubbed the “Safe Freight Act,” it would have no actual effect on rail safety. In fact, the U.S. Federal Rail Administration (FRA), which oversees rail safety, recently found there’s no evidence that two people in the locomotive cab is safer than one.

The FRA’s findings also revealed that such personnel mandates could hinder future modernization of the industry, emphasizing that it could “unnecessarily impede the future of rail innovation and automation.” This would have significant short and long-term effects on the rail system that helps connect our state businesses, consumers and economy.

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Innovations of safety are already taking place

Government mandates on how industries utilize personnel fail to account for how innovation is transforming sectors such as transportation, with the proliferation of autonomous technologies that are making cars, trucks and trains safer than ever.

The future of freight rail — and all industries — depends upon being able to develop and fully utilize these innovations in ways that will help improve operations and better deploy workforces.

For freight railroads, these types of innovations include automated braking technologies that can eliminate human error, as well sensors, data analysis and machine learning capabilities that can detect safety threats before issues arise.

With 25 freight railroads operating more than 2,500 miles of track in Tennessee, the industry’s investment in smart technology and safety enhancements will help ensure the state continues to connect efficiently with national and global markets.

Freight rail has long been a cornerstone of Tennessee’s economy, and the importance of freight rail increases steadily— Memphis, for instance, is now the nation’s third-largest rail center.

As the automotive industry and others continue to grow here, railroads will continue to play a central role. It is critical that our members of Congress oppose shortsighted regulations that do nothing to increase rail safety and will only serve to disrupt the industry’s ability to power the state’s economy for the future.